New program encourages residents to keep pace with local doctors

The ingredients for a perfect, autumn walk: a slight nip in the air, the far off scent of burning leaves and your family doctor.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS Daily News Staff

The ingredients for a perfect, autumn walk: a slight nip in the air, the far off scent of burning leaves and your family doctor.

That’s the case, at least, for the City of Jacksonville and the Onslow County Parks and Recreation Department. This autumn, and into the next year, they are sponsoring Walk with a Doc.

Walk with a Doc is a national program that encourages members of the community to go for a walk around town with a local physician, not only for exercise, but to learn about ways to stay healthy. There is Walk with a Doc programs in 24 States, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Alberta, Australia and Moscow, Russia. Last month, Jacksonville added its name to the list of cities and towns participating in the program with a walk along the New River Waterfront Park. The walk was led by Josephine Malfitano, a nurse practitioner representing Dr. Swetang M. Patel.

“It was an incredible opportunity to share information in a comfortable environment,” said Malifitano.

The subject of Malifitano’s walk and talk was Cholesterol, a hot button issue in North Carolina health. According to the United Health Foundation, 38.5 percent of adults in the state are reported to have high cholesterol and 65.7 percent are obese or overweight. North Carolina is currently one of 11 states that make up “The Stroke Belt” due to the high rate of adults with high cholesterol.

“Obesity is a major problem,” said Patel. “Even an early age, obese people will have a problem with high cholesterol.”

Malifitano said the walk gave her the opportunity to have a casual question and answer session with members of the community, which she credits in part to the organizers of the event, which posted markers along the mile long path in the town’s lower Downtown area.

“The people there were very engaged and the event was well organized,” said Malifitano. “Walking is important for cholesterol reduction, so it was a win-win for sure.”

One of the organizers of series is Kelley Marcaccio, Recreation Coordinator, has previous experience with the program while working for Parks and Recreation in a Detroit suburb. Marcaccio said the program was successful, though she and the other organizers in Onslow County put their own spin on the program.

“One thing I noticed (in Michigan) is that the doctors would talk and lecture to people in a room, and then they’d walk,” said Marcaccio. “We wanted to incorporate the doctor throughout the walk, so we stop at designated areas to talk about certain topics.

“We also wanted to attract different age groups, not just retirees, to the walk, so we’re incorporating a lot of different topics, from high cholesterol to physical fitness.”

Leading October’s walk is Dr. Randy Blackburn, whose specialty is in radiation oncology. Blackburn, who enjoys outdoor activities, including golfing and skiing, and talking about his specialty, cancer treatment, said accepting the offer to be a part of the program was a no brainer.

“I always love to talk about how we can treat (cancer) effectively,” said Blackburn. “A lot of cancers are curable. We just have to stop and take the time to get screened and get the treatment.”

Like Malifitano and Patel, Blackburn said regular exercise, even a leisurely walk in the park, can go a long way in preventing life shortening conditions as it helps keep the immune system stable, which is the most effective way to fight cancer from spreading. Blackburn also said he wants to give back to those fighting cancer by making sure others know how to prevent it or how to fight it effectively.

“(Cancer patients) are always doing things for everyone else and they last person they think about are themselves,” said Blackburn. “This is something to give back to people so they’ll understand what they can do to fight this disease and get screened. Cancer patients that exist today would recommend it so they can get the word out any way they can.”

Christopher Thomas is a staff writer for the Jacksonville Daily News. To contact him, call 910-219-8473 or e-mail him at christopher.thomas@jdnews.com.